


Don't Run

by gaylawyers



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Baker!Gaius, Biker!Cherche, F/M, but he works at a bakery, he doesnt really bake until the end lmaooo, smoking mention, there may be typos im sorry, this is just another cute thing for this tag i need this tag full of more things blease
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-17 05:27:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9307391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaylawyers/pseuds/gaylawyers
Summary: Gaius had been running from everything all his life. But then she came into his life and staying put didn't seem like such a bad idea.





	

Gaius loved his little bakery job, but he knew that it was probably the most fucking boring part-time job he's ever had. He loved being around sweets, being able to smell freshly baked pastries, but they didn't let him anywhere near the kitchen. Besides the fact that they knew about his sweet tooth, his bosses didn't really trust him. A scoundrel, they would call him. He wondered if they were really so desperate that they would hire a "scoundrel" in the first place.

He sucked a strawberry-flavored hard candy, pressing it against the roof of his mouth, his fingers tap-tapping away at the counter top, like he had nothing better to do. His hazy green eyes stared at the little bell perched on top of the door of the bakery, the boredom evident on his face. He was lucky he managed to snag a job near any sweets at all, the only thing he craved a little more than he craved cigarettes. He's quitting after all. He's been clean for two months now and this definitely helps. He can't help but feel stressed.

_There has to be more than this._

Gaius had been running away his whole life.

He ran and ran from all his problems. He ran from college. He ran from responsibilities. He even ran away from his mother, just like his father had. He stopped smoking. Was that running away from death? He wasn't sure.

He liked this job, because it was close to that which he loved most. Sweets. But god, he hated it. They weren't even _good_ sweets. _There has to be so much more than this. I said I would go completely clean to be better. This doesn't feel better. I'm sinking._

The little bell rang and suddenly the world shifted.

He's seen her before, many times, as she would go to that university that he used to go to before he dropped out. Tall girl, much taller than he was (though at a whopping 5"3', he wasn't very tall to begin with) clad in a leather jacket, sleeves rolled up to expose lovely floral tattoo sleeves on her strong arms. Her pink hair framed her pretty face, and it was held back by a white frilly hair band that suited her very well. Her lips, cherry red and pulled into a soft smile, moved as she said something to him that he didn't quite catch.

"...I'm sorry?" He said, snapping out of his stupor.

A soft giggle escaped her lips, and she covered her mouth, smiling at him. "A loaf of bread please?" Her voice was like music, with a slight French accent he found strangely enticing. He almost didn't hear what she had said.

"I...oh. Right, right. Sorry." She was distracting. "What kind of bread?"

She pointed at a French bread in the pantry and he bagged the it for her, mumbling. "That'll be $5.95."

Her smile was distracting.

Giving him a $10, chills went down his spine as her fingers grazed his, and her eyes immediately locked with his and her smile widened, just a bit before he had to look down to count her change. He only then noticed the motorcycle helmet cradled gently in her free arm. Quickly returning her change, hoping he counted it right (though she didn't look down at it, keeping her eyes on him the whole time and he swore he couldn't breathe), he said, "Thank you."

"Thank you..." She paused then, glancing at his name tag and smiling. "Gaius." 

He felt chills go down his spine when he heard her whisper his name, almost huskily, and he watched her walk away. When she left the little bakery, he kept watching where she once stood for a while, before whispering. 

“No prob.”

—

She came back the next day, enticing as ever, looking for the same French bread he had given her the day before. This time she strikes up a conversation.

"I feel as though I've seen you before."

"Hah?" Gaius mumbled, unable to form a coherent sentence with a lollipop in his mouth and his hands busy with bagging the bread. He put the bag on the counter-top.

"I have, haven't I? Ylisse University?"

Taking the lollipop out of his mouth, Gaius nods. "Yeah, well... I used to go there. I dropped out, though."

Her face twisted into a small frown. "Oh? And why is that?"

Gaius hesitates. "...I guess...I just wasn't feelin' it, ya know? What's it matter, anyways?"

"Oh..." she smiled apologetically. "Forgive me, I did not wish to pry..."

"No, its okay!" He says, maybe a little too quickly judging by her eyebrows shooting up in surprise. He coughs, and says again slower. “Uh. It’s fine. Not a lot of people bother to ask, so I was just...surprised, I guess.” He murmured the last two words, as he grabbed the money she handed him and reached to get her change. 

“Ah, you can keep the change, Gaius.” 

He shuddered when she said his name. For some reason, every time she said it, he was filled with.....something. About to respond with a thank you, he looked up to see she was gone. 

Silence filled the air.

“ _SHIT_ , I forgot to get her name!”

— 

Luckily enough for him, he was able to learn it the day after that, because she eventually started seeing him everyday. Or rather, she started buying bread everyday. She must really like this bread.

_Or, your charms are working in your favor, Gaius._

He snorted. _Right._

Regardless, he got to see her everyday. Her name was Cherche. They striked up different conversations. He asked her about her bike and her french accent, she asked him about his job and his hobbies. She was a french transfer student, but she moved here a long time ago, because of some guy she felt compelled to take care of and because...she really liked it here.

_“He really just can’t take care of himself.” She had said. “He’s lost a lot, and he’s a bit foolish, but I do care about him. The way a mother would care about a child, probably.”_

She didn’t pry deeply into his personal life, something he appreciated.

“Ah! No candy!” 

Gaius blinked and chuckled. “Huh?”

Cherche grinned. “You don’t have candy in your mouth, for once.” 

“Ah.” Gaius frowned then, remembering the new rule his boss taped onto the fridge in the break room. “Yeah. I can’t eat during work hours anymore.” He sniffed. Honestly, if his boss knew it was because of withdrawal reasons, he’d probably still not let him eat any sweets. His boss really didn't like him. “I really want something sweet now...”

Cherche sighed and shook her head, her hand gently pressing against her cheek in what can only be called motherly disapproval. “Too much candy is not good for you, Gaius.”

Gaius sniffed, contemplating whether or not he should tell her. He chuckled. “And here I thought you were a bad girl, Cherche.”

Cherch smiled slyly in response and his brain stopped working for a minute.

Fuck it.

“I eat candy constantly to stop myself from smokin'.” He said finally. 

She looked at him, her eyes serious and her mouth settled into a small frown. “I see...Did you smoke for a long time before you decided to quit?”

Gaius hesitated then for a few seconds, his eyebrows furrowing, before finally speaking. “...Yeah. I was 14 when I started.”

Cherche was quiet for a little bit, before she smiled at him. “Then, I’m sincerely proud of you for taking the initiative to stop.” Without another word, she pulled out a small wrapped bonbon and handed it to him. 

He took it slowly, and gazed at it. “...Thank you.” 

She only smiled and booped his nose and Gaius wasn’t sure, but he could have sworn his heart skipped a beat or two.

— 

The bakery was never really busy, except on the rare Sundays when parents would come in from around the neighborhood to buy breakfast food for their kids. The pastries normally remained untouched, because they were honestly just...not good. On days where it was busy, Cherche would grab the bread and go, sending a little wink in Gaius’ general direction, whereas on days where it was empty...

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ, you are absolutely ripped.” he said, his hand wrapped around her bicep and she giggled. 

“Gaius, watch your language.” She chastised softly. 

He looked into her eyes, his hand still on her arm, and grinned at her teasingly. “Oh? And if I don’t? What’re ya gonna do? Punch me?” 

She smiled back, teasingly as well. “I may be tempted to take drastic measures to make sure your cute mouth doesn’t say such uncouth things, dear.” 

Cherche’s strange pet names for him were nothing new, but the way she said that felt strangely sensual. Gaius flushed and dropped his hand from her arm, coughing into his hand. Cherche’s cheeks were flushed as well, and his heart beat a little faster. She was flirting with him. “Oh yeah? I may be tempted to say even more, uh, uncouth things then, if that’s the case.”

Cherche grinned. 

— 

The flirting didn’t stop there. 

Cherche was very sweet, and as it turns out she was also very flirty. She brought him bonbons everyday and they would both flirt rather insatiably, back and forth. The soft grazes of their hands lasted a little longer, her smiles towards him were a tad sweeter, they scarcely broke eye contact. He was enraptured by her. He had never wanted to tell someone all of his secrets, the way he did her. He had never been so intimate with someone, with eye-contact alone. He had never wanted to kiss someone so badly, and he's had his fair share of kisses. 

"I think it'd be nice if you met my Minerva."

"Huh? Your motorcycle?" 

Cherche laughed at that. "No, silly. I'm pleased you remembered that my motorcycle is also named Minerva. But I am referring to my cat." 

Gaius sniffed, contemplating this. "Me 'n cats don't really mesh," he paused at seeing the disappointed look in her eye. "Err, but I'd be willing to meet your cat, of course." 

Cherche smiled, pleased. "Oh? Well...perhaps when you're off from work then?" 

Gaius stared. "...Um...today?" She nodded at him, and he bit his lip, feeling excitement bubble in his stomach. "Yeah, I'd...like that."

It wasn't really a date, but it was enough.

That night, he closed up shop and she picked him up, on her motorcycle of course, and took him to her apartment. Said apartment was near his old college, unsurprisingly. The apartment was sleek and modern, but also very cozy and homey. Minerva, a sphynx cat, stared up at Gaius from the floor, but Gaius could have sworn she was looking down on him, her nose turned up in what he could only call distaste. When he tried to walk past her, Minerva clawed at his ankle and Gaius hissed. 

"Minerva!" Cherche chastised. "Be polite."

Minerva didn't try anything for the rest of the night, but she did stare at Gaius, occasionally sniffing him and giving him soft licks on his hand while he sat down with Cherche in her living room (only to look away in distaste once again when he looked at her). And he and Cherche just...talked. For as long as they could. Enjoying each other's prolonged company. The hairless cat curled up onto Cherche's lap and eyed Gaius and though he was nervous, he decided internally that he would win her over, though Cherche quietly assured him that Minerva did like him. 

He eventually had to leave and go home and Cherche took him home on her bike. She walked him to the door of his shitty apartment, and she left him with a soft cheek kiss and a final sly smile, making his heart race. 

He was a goner.

—  
The next morning he returned to work, his boss fired him on the spot. Something about stolen pastries. _Right. As if I would eat your shitty pastries._

Jeez. He was in a rut. He had to go job-hunting again. He just wanted to see Cherche. He paused, realizing he really had no way to contact her. If her apartment weren't so far, he would walk there...but he had to find a job close enough to his own. He supposed he could find a job first and then inform her. Hours of walking around almost got him nowhere, until he stumbled upon a cute little candy shop. 

He managed to get a job in the candy shop, his extensive knowledge on how to make pastries winning over the sweet lady who owned the place, and he had never been happier. He whistled a tune all the way back to his own apartment. He'd tell Cherche as soon as his working week was over, he thought to himself, rather pleased. He wanted to surprise her. 

A few days into working in the candy shop and Gaius was starting to get a handle on things. His new boss even let him bake some pastries for the shop! _The only thing missing is..._

He was cleaning the counter-top when the little bell of the door rang and Gaius looked up, and there she was, looking at him with a small frown on her face. His heart started racing. 

She sighed and closed her eyes. "I was so worried. I heard you lost your job and when I went to look for you in your apartment you were never there!" 

He grinned nervously. "I, uh, work here now. Isn't it sweet?" 

She sighed and walked up to the counter. "Not quite as sweet as you, but it'll do." She said, shamelessly. Putting a bag of bread from the little bakery he used to work at on the counter, she smiled then. "I suppose this will be my morning stop from now on. Do you have any bread?"

Gaius smiled. "'Fraid not. Only sweets and cakes," he paused. "And some ginger sweets I made for when ya came too."

"Oh, you..." Cherche's chest puffed a little as her cheeks flushed and she grabbed his hand. "It's so hard to stay mad at you."

Gaius grinned, squeezing her hand. "Heh. Can I have your number? And maybe a dinner date?"

Cherche smiled again. "I'm surprised it took you this long to ask. I was just about to ask you today, as well."

"Is _that_ so?"

"Was it not obvious that I like you?"

He grinned cheekily, his face flushing. Pressing her hand against his mouth, he mumbled. "Maybe a little." 

Her hand curled around his hand and then slipped under his chin, making him look up into those eyes he was so captured by.

"I'll try to make it more obvious next time." she said teasingly, leaning down to kiss him silently. 

For the first time in a long time, Gaius didn't want to run, not even for a second. He wanted to be here, with her. 

He had never been more sure of anything before she came into his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This ship is so rare... It's so wild to me, because their support chain is /so/ good. I hope this was okay! I haven't written in a long time (not something this long at least), so I think the pacing may be a little bit off, but I like this! The characterization might be weird because this is half-based on rp stuff fjdnk so.
> 
> Nonetheless, I hope this is enjoyable! I might write more stuff for these two in the future since...I honestly...love them so much.


End file.
